Part of the government’s national investment plan is to include a participation promotion division tasked with guiding industries in investing in strategic industries that provide safe and long-term options with decent returns, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
Cho made the comments during a meeting with World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce (WTCC) members at the Executive Yuan.
Taiwan has 176 chambers of commerce worldwide, which is a healthy number, Cho said, adding that President William Lai (賴清德) has often said that he hoped to make Taiwan an economic empire “on which the sun never sets,” with the assistance of the WTCC.
Photo: CNA
Taiwanese businesspeople can meet and speak with others through channels that are otherwise unavailable to the Taiwanese government, laying the groundwork for Taiwanese success, Cho said.
Cho said the government would work more closely with Taiwanese businesspeople to address challenges they might face due to international and political situations.
Commenting on the proposals approved by the Executive Yuan’s Economic Development Committee meeting on Thursday, Cho said the government must provide good investment channels and expedite investment legislation, as well as other incentives, to attract investments by Taiwanese businesspeople.
The government plans to create an Asian Asset Management Center with Taiwanese characteristics over the next six years to effectively use investment funds, while another proposal seeks to foster 200,000 people skilled in artificial intelligence (AI) and attract 120,000 foreign talent to the AI industry, Cho said.
Cho added that the committee’s consultants’ meeting, which is expected to be held next month, hopes to provide new policies for buildings and constructions.
He also urged Taiwanese businesspeople overseas to monitor potential opportunities for collaboration between Taiwan and their resident country.
Overseas Taiwanese businesspeople own an estimated NT$10 trillion (US$305 billion) in funds, WTCC president Lee Tien-chi (李天柒) said.
The problem is not funding, but that the majority of Taiwanese businesspeople made their names in traditional industries and lacked the knowledge of how to invest in high-tech industries, he said.
Lee urged the government to address such issues and resolve tax concerns, adding: “We all hope the government will lead us on the right path.”
Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) wrote on Facebook about the ministry’s and foreign offices’ assistance and support after a recent meeting with the members of the WTCC.
Lin thanked WTCC members for being the face of Taiwan’s economic diplomacy and said their hard work contributed to the nation’s trade and financial accomplishments.
The ministry hopes to implement the president’s “the sun never sets” economic policy, and would continue to close the gap with like-minded countries through economic investments and by signing more bilateral investment agreements, Lin said.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated